


Double Crossed

by LaughingThalia



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-07-14 01:29:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7146587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaughingThalia/pseuds/LaughingThalia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><div class="center">
  <p>----Loki managed to escape his Asgardian cell and attempts to take over Earth once more. With both SHIELD and the Avengers compromised, Tony Stark has no choice but to 'join' Loki and hope that the maniac doesn't sense his deceit. ----</p>
  <p>---It's even harder than it sounds, I mean how the Hel do you maintain a fake uneasy alliance with a homicidal Norse god?---<br/>--That's like asking someone to lie to the god of lies...--<br/>-oh wait.-</p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tony's Adventure in Metaphorical Hell

Tony was mingling at a party with other rich people on TV for some random charity event he was donating a ridiculous amount of money to because Pepper had made him, he put on his fake smile and charmed his way through encounter after encounter with people he didn't actually like, Pepper owed him so much for this.

He was talking to Mr Osborne of Oscorp about their companies; Normand had done almost as well as Stark Industries just in a different field, thankfully that might have caused some competition. Anyway they were talking when Tony got the sense that something bad was going to happen his hand instinctively to his right arm where the arm of the suit was hidden up his sleeve, no one notice the movement. Tony glanced around and he saw the camera focus on him, he had started to frown and of course the tabloids wanted to know why. He stepped away from Osborne mid-sentence which probably offended him and started looking around when his eyes fell on a tall man in green and gold with short cropped black hair and piercing green eyes, he didn't look like Loki but he had a certain aura of power and grace that told Tony that looks can be deceiving, he was the god of lies after all. He extended the arm of his suit so he could shoot it and raised his arm, this action caused a slight panic from those immediately surrounding him, even the camera man backed up a bit worried that Stark was about to go on an Iron Man related killing spree.

Tony narrowed his eyes at the supposed Loki and took a deep breath, if he was wrong Fury would kill him, if he was right Loki might kill him and many others, there was no winning. He held his breath and aimed shooting the green eyed man in the stomach. A few people screamed but then it went silent when the man didn't fall, instead he seemed to grow and his imagine flickered until Loki the god of lies who was supposed to be in his cell on Asgard stood to his full height smirking down at Tony. "Aaah Mr Stark how did you know it was me?"

"The green and gold, kind of give you away Reindeer Games." He studied Loki "Where's you glow stick of destiny?"

"It was a gift and since I failed in taking over the earth it was reclaimed but no worries I can still kill the Avengers and conquer the Earth without it."

Tony snorted "An army, Loki. You had an army and we beat you, what's so different now?"

"I've studied you now." He snapped his fingers "Ms Romanoff aka Black Widow is now back in Russia where she belongs, it will take her a while to fight her way out of the army of mercenaries and assassins and then she has to get back here." He clicked again "The Super Soldier is now stuck inside SHIELD headquarters along with all the other agents and Director Fury. All Shield and Army aircrafts have been grounded and locked, Agent Baton and Dr Banner are trapped at Stark Tower and you Man of Iron are not even in your full suit." He smirked again "So tell me how are you to beat me?"

"Where's your brother?"

Loki snapped losing his graceful pretence "He's NOT my brother!" he calmed down again but the smirk was lost "and he's on Asgard disconnected from here, unable to see you or hear you."

Tony for a second looked lost and then he grinned and yelled as loudly as he could "HEIMDELL IF YOU CAN HEAR ME GET THOR!"

Loki smirked again "Heimdell is temporarily and conveniently out of use so you're on your own Man of Iron."

Ton'y arm which was still trained on Loki wavered as he realised the hopelessness of the situation, he glanced at the crowd behind him and at the camera before putting on a brave face "Listen Loki, SHIELD itself will have to fall before you rule the world. As I've said before we may not be able to save the world but you can be damn sure we'll avenge it."

"and how will you do that when you're dead." He pulled out a knife and flung it at Tony's head he ducked out of the way but felt it take of a chunk of his perfectly shaped hair.

"By Odin's beard that was close! And I spend too much time with Thor!"

"I'll tell you mortal I never miss twice. Of course you can always stand down, join me in conquering Earth and you can keep Stark tower you can even keep your girlfriend, the one named after a herb."

"Pepper?"

"Did you date any other girls named after herbs? Am I going to meet a Nutmeg somewhere who went out with you?"

Tony shrugged "It's possible." Then he went back to serious "But why would I trust you, you're the god of lies, trickery and deceit, the original silver tongue."

"I swear on The Power of the All father that if you join me I will not harm your tower or Miss Virginia Pepper Potts." Tony looked at the camera and the audience then at Loki then at the pathetic hand blaster he was sporting then back at the crowd and he winked at the camera hopefully conveying his message that he was double crossing Loki. "Oh and don't lie Stark I can sense it."

Tony gulped and took a deep breath sending subtle warning glances that he hoped Fury was catching before looking back at Loki "Ok. I'll join you."

As soon as those words left his mouth the crowd fell into a frenzied panic running and screaming trying to get out before Iron man turned on them Loki smiled "Shoot them."

"This is just an arm repulser built to not kill humans, not good press, this was for basic self defence it was actually kind of stupid to try and face you with it sooo shooting them won't do anything right now."

"You're not stalling your first kill are you, trying to preserve whatever goodness you have?"

Tony glanced quickly at the camera man who was still there filming and then looked Loki in the eye "This wouldn't be my first kill."

Loki looked slightly shocked "Second?"

Tony remained silent

"Tenth?"

Tony shuffled awkwardly

"mmm. It seems I underestimated you Mr Stark. You're more like me than you care to admit. Why don't we discuss this away from prying eyes."

He pointed his hand at the Camera man who paled just before he shot Tony jumped in front of him and shrieked "DON'T!" and then straightened up nonchalantly "I'm Tony Stark I like to have an audience. I think we should keep him around I believe this is broadcasting all over the world now that you're back. Fear is all about how you market it, I should know I used to be a weapons manufacturer!"

Loki narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything he simply beckoned the camera man forward and walked away, Tony following behind trying to keep up with his long strides. He glanced back and the camera man thanked him silently, Tony nodded a your welcome before once again becoming stoic but trying to fit the part of a villain hadn't been in training.


	2. Natasha's Adventure in Literal Russia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about Russia so I apologize in advance. I'm sorry.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Natasha's usually calm deminer had been shattered as she fell towards... Russia? She would recognise that icey landscape anywhere. Why the heck was she in Russia? And why do there appear to be a bunch of armed assassin's right below her?

Armed assassins. _Oh sh*t. That's not good._ She spread out her arms to create wind resistance and manage to slow her fall slightly. _'Okay Natasha think, what could be going on? First of all I need to get away from these guys then get back to SHIELD or the Avengers.'_

As she got closer one of the mercenaries fired at her, it missed her by an inch. She was approaching the ground rapidly, all she needed was a way to land safely and she would be home free. Natasha scanned her surroundings from a bird's eye view and saw a large bush covered in a layer of powdery snow. Most would have missed it from her height, it wasn't exactly soft but it was better than the ground. It would have to do.

She pointed her body in the direction of the bush and began to move through the sky as if she were flying. A few more shots were fired at her but she was moving too fast by now. When she was closer to the bush she did a few forward rolls mid air to slow her fall and landed with a soft oof she lay there for ten seconds groaning and then got up. She had to keep moving.

As she trudged along the road she got her SHIELD communicator and tried to call someone at the Hub or the Triscellion or even the Fridge but no one picked up instead she got tapped into a news report that was already half an hour old.

It was Tony standing at a party talking to Norman Osborne and then leaving and shooting some random gu-LOKI! He joined Loki?! She rewound it and caught his wink. That must mean he's not really joining Loki but Loki senses lies and he only seems slightly suspicious... rrrrg why must her spy brain kick into overdrive just trust that tony knows what he's doing! 

_'But you trust no one'_ a voice in her head whispered to her, she frowned, it was true but she was determined for it not to be and if that meant pretending then she would look the other way when her friends did odd things, she would allow them to do what the need to do. Apart from Tony. Tony was an idiot, he always was, always will be he's reckless and his plans never work how they're supposed to she would have to get back to America quickly and she would have to help Tony from the shadows as to not blow his cover.

Who did she know in Russia that wouldn't kill her? Maybe Scarlett Johansson, a friend she made on a mission a few years back, she was an actress. Natasha was sure that Scarlett would be able to help her. She called her, it rung a few times before Scarlett picked it up.

"Tasha! I thought you'd be calling after Loki announced you were here, So where can I come pick you up?"

She looked at a sign "uuum a place called Лесной." **(Don't ask I don't know. But it is a real place in Russia)**

Whilst Natasha had been distracted a man dressed in all black (which was terrible for stealth in the middle of snowy Russia) snuck up on her. Creeping silently so that not even snow crunched underfoot, he prepared to choke the woman who had betrayed the KGB, he pulled out a thin but tough wire that was well used within their rank of assassin. Before he had the chance a small knife found itself embedded in his jugular. He died with a loud gurgle of blood pouring from his damaged throat.

"What was that?" Scarlett inquired

"Oh nothing." Natasha replied flippantly

A pair of assisins clearly smarter than the last as they were wearing white and were almost impossible to see attacked out of nowhere. "Hey Scar Jo-"

"I hate that name."

"I _know_ ," Black Widow avoided a punch from the man by grabbing his wrist and getting in several direct hits to his face with her phone. On the other side of the phone Scarlett cringed at the loud and unusual sound. "How long are you gonna be?" Romanoff asked into the phone casually bringing it back up to her ear.

"I'll be with you within the hour."

The woman came up behind her while she was focused on her partner with a gun but she dodged 2 bullets and then used the assassin's ex-partner as a human shield and riddling him with the remaining 4 bullets from a gun that was used to killing with every shot. Natasha laughed at the shock on the woman's face at her having survived.

"Was that gunfire?" Scarlett asked concerned and alarmed.

"Nope it wasnt...Okay biya Scar Jo." She said abruptly, not wanting Scarlett to worry then hesitated "And Scarlett," she gave a distorting punch to the woman sending her to the ground.

"Yeah Tash?" Scarlett had decided two can play at the nick-name game 

"Thanks."

"Well you're probably man kinds only hope with everyone else scattered like this. I'll get my jet to you as soon as possible try to stay moving. It's cold in Russia."

She hung up and turned to the woman on the floor. "What's your name?"

"Anastasia."

"You with the Red Room? Are you in the Black Widow programme?"

"Yes."

"Do you know who I am?"

"No. Who are you?"

"I'm the god damn Black Widow." She stomped Anastasia in the face and knocked her out cold. "What are they teaching now-a-days? Red rooms gotten soft." She spoke aloud to herself as she observed Anastasia unconscious and taken down so easily.


	3. Clint and Bruce's Adventure at Stark Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint AKA Hawkeye POV

Bruce came rushing down to the shooting range where I was training his eyes were flashing green and he looked extremely flustered "CLINT! Upstairs now!" then he turned around and ran back towards the lift. I dropped my training arrows (Pepper didn't want me using the explosive ones inside) grabbed my mission arrows and followed Bruce to the lift. The lift ride would only be 6.64 seconds, I knew, I had timed it but I wanted Banner to start explaining immediately, but he simply brushed me off "Just Wait a sec." I sighed and nodded. SHIELD had prepared me for moments like this, wanting to know but no one telling you. But just because I was used to it didn't mean I didn't still hated it though.

We stepped out into the lounge where the news was on "JARVIS rewind." Commanded Bruce slightly strained still trying to fight the green that was slowly creeping up his neck. _What could have made him so mad?_

Okay so Tony talking to Osborne on TV nothing new. Tony pointing his repulsers at people... that _was_ new. LOKI APPEARING! That's definitely new. I tried to fight the cold blue light that engulfed me as I fell back into my memories of my time under Loki's control. _Breath Clint just because he's here doesn't mean he can control you again._ I re-concentrated on the screen and caught the part where Tony said he would join him and followed Loki away. No way would Tony just give up! "JARVIS rewind."

JARVIS' cool voice asked "I assume you missed part of that due to your mini panic attack."

Bruce sent me a worried look which I ignored instead I commanded tightly "Just rewind JARVIS."

Okay so Tony winks at us but Loki accepts him anyway. What's that about? Is he double crossing Loki or betraying us?

I turned to Bruce "We need to get out of here. JARVIS get the quinjet ready."

"I'm afraid Loki has disabled my systems if you watch the video you will see that he has split up SHIELD, The Military and the remaining Avengers." He showed that part of the video

"Damn!" I started pacing "So were locked in?"

"That is correct Agent Barton."

I lost it I grabbed an explosive arrow and fired it at the wall nothing happened except Bruce dropped to the ground, I shot two arrows simultaneously at the window and not even a crack "RRRRG!" I got another arrow and was about to fire it when Bruce's hand was on my shoulder

"Clint, the walls are Hulk proof. We need to find another way out." Bruce seemed guilty as if it were his fault. Oh right it sort of is his fault.

"How? The air vent?"

"No they're probably locked too." Bruce sat down to think

I stayed standing I was basically a soldier following orders like I do, standing helped me think. I clicked my fingers and grinned "The Mark 39!" I exclaimed

"But Tony said that's just a prototype! We can't use that!" Bruce's face looked almost scandalised

"I'm sure we can throw safety out the window now that Loki's back!" I was already walking towards Tony's lab I knew I wasn't allowed in there but priorities people!

Bruce looked torn but sighed and followed me "I feel like we're going to regret this!"

I just grinned I'd finally have a chance to get into the Iron Man suit. I would never admit it but I was a huge fan boy when it came to Iron Man he was like Coulson and Captain America. Coulson... NO now was not the time for emotions!

**A/N: BTW Tony's using the Mark 38 I'm not sure if I said that before, it's not really important but still it might come up soon. Also the reason he doesn't have the Mark 45 like in Iron Man 3 is cuz this is before that.**

I saw the red and gold Amazingness that was the Mark 39 I took a deep breath and stepped into it, thankfully JARVIS wasn't opposing and it closed around me. I studied the symbols on the screen and figured out what most of them were. I walked around the room and smiled under the mask, this was pretty cool. Now to test flying controls "JARVIS can you get me in the air." He had expected the thrusters to be in the hands and feet like they were the first time he saw the suit and he was surprised that he hadn't noticed that they had been replaced with jetpack thrusters so that his hands were free **(He actually did that but I think that was in Iron man 3 not the Avengers).** He located the weakest point in the tower and trained every single weapon in the suit on that spot "Okay Bruce cover your ears and stand back. Three." I started counting down "Two." The tension was building "One." I took a deep breath. "Zero." The blast almost deafened me, my ears were ringing for 10 minutes after but at least we were free I turned to Bruce "So," I basically yelled due to the fact that I couldn't hear myself "Do you want the Mark 37 or am I giving you a lift?"


	4. Steve's Adventure at SHIELD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve's 3rd person POV

Steve was relaxing after a mission that had gone just as well as all his other missions since he had been unfrozen, when Deputy Director Hill and Agent Melinda May AKA The Calvary raced into the room. Their faces were stoic and Hill's voice was stern but also stressed "Captain you might want to watch this."

They held out a Stark Pad that was dressed up with special SHIELD cases (Made my Stark Industries) which SHIELD had taken to using after Tony had become a consultant, Steve looked at them warily before taking it and watching as Tony Stark walked off basically hand in hand with the Earth's worst villain Loki Laufeyson. Steve wasn't one to curse but he had never been betrayed so badly, he had never been so shocked "No f*cking way."

May sighed "Unfortunately Yes F*cking way."

Just then Fury stormed into the room "We're locked in, I have all Agents scanning for a way out or a weak spot we can blast through but we built this way too well."

Steve's eyes widened and the other spies noticed "What?" asked Hill

Steve muttered "You didn't build it."

Fury caught on "Stark did."

May and Hill's eyes widened. May looked at her Stark Pad "And so's all of SHIELD's best tech and communication devices."

Hill took out her Stark Comm link and spoke into it "Attention All Agents. This is Deputy Director Hill. Any Stark Tech has possibly been compromised. Dump them all in the interrogation rooms and switch back to SHIELD only tech.

May sighed "Well escape just got a whole lot harder."

Steve started pacing "Okay so the Helicarrier is locked and so's the Hub and the Triskelion?" Fury nodded his confirmation "And all SHIELD crafts are being grounded?" Another nod "What about Agents who were out they're still free right?"

"A lot of them are based in Europe right now and nothing could get them here fast enough except-"

"Except a quinjet, which we can't use." Steve finished growing more hopeless by the second "Are we over the sea?"

"Yeah..." Hill said uneasily "Rogers what are you thinking?"

Steve and Fury locked eyes and they said simultaneously "Set her down." Fury relayed the order to the pilots

"You want to land in the water, and then what?" Asked May

"We sail." Steve deadpanned "You guys do have boats that aren't Stark tech don't you?"

They all nodded.

May asked "We have limited boat space so who are we bringing?"

Fury thought "Me, Hill, May, Rogers... let's get Ward involved and Agent Morse too."

May smiled a rare smile "You're calling in Bobbi?"

"She's one of the best, why wouldn't I."

Hill replied eyebrow rose "because she's undercover at Hydra."

Steve snapped "Well if Loki succeeds Hydra will be the least of our problems!"

The four Agent called for Agent Morse to meet them on the scene while they went to Find Grant. They found him shouting at Agent Simmons, a female scientist; Agent Ward's hostility seemed to have angered Simmons partner Agent Fitz who was trying to look threatening despite being half a foot shorter and not at all muscular. When Fury walked into the room everyone fell into silence. Fury said coldly "Agent Ward I suggest you step away from Fitz and Simmons. I also suggest you don't yell at them in the future as they are SHIELD's most capable scientists. Now Ward please come with us we are going on a mission. I'd get geared up."

Ward stared at him for a second before glaring at the two relieved scientists and then followed the four high ranking Agents out of the room accepting a few guns and knives that random Level 5's provided for him. As he walked he stashed them in random places on his body before taking his main gun and placing it in the holster. He looked at Fury and asked "Okay so what's the plan?"

They had walked to a docking station Ward hadn't known existed aboard the high-tech Helicarrier. Fury prided himself on being one step ahead. Nick Fury explained "We're landing in the water and taking a manual boat to Stark's location. We are using all SHIELD tech because Stark's been compromised and could hack his own devices."

Grant Ward raised an eyebrow "Hasn't he hacked SHIELD before, what's to stop him from hacking all SHIELD made tech?"

The other four stopped and looked at him, and then at each other, they wordlessly took out their SHIELD coms and placed them on the table then went back to preparing the boats. There were two sleek black motor boats with the SHIELD logo painted on one side Ward double checked the motor and asked "Okay so once we get out what then?"

Fury said through gritted teeth "Hill, May, you and me are on civilian patrol. Cap will be tracking down the other Avengers. Hopefully Widow found a way out of Russia."

Ward snorted "You! On Civilian patrol!?" but the smirk was wiped off his face by the look Fury gave him "That's very noble of you Sir."

Hill rolled her eyes at the butt kissing and climbed into the boat, May climbed into the other boat, Fury signalled for Ward to get in May's boat and Fury sat with Hill, leaving enough space for the Super Soldiers touchy. Steve sighed "I guess you want me to open the hatch and push the boat out?" No reply. Steve tilted his head "Sure why not just dump all the heavy lifting onto the guy with super strength!" He took a deep breath before using his shield to start smashing through the weak point of the hatch. When the hole was big enough he push the boats out of it and hopped in the one with Fury and Hill. The sailed all the way to the docks and when some of the civilians saw Captain America and a few SHIELD Agents they cheered having recognised the eagle logo from the Battle of Manhattan as people were calling it.

The Agents nodded at Steve and he saluted them before jogging towards the tower in search of Barton and Banner. Although Steve couldn't figure out why Clint would be at Stark Tower anyway, unless Loki transported him there.


	5. Tony's Adventure With The Trickster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki tests Stark's loyalty.

"Mr Stark,"

"Yeah Reindeer Games?" Tony smirked

Loki's eye twitched "I have been _polite_ enough to refer to you as Mr stark, I would refraim from calling me Reindeer Games."

"Sure thing, Rock of Ages."

Loki warned gritting his teeth, "Stark, I swear-" he took a deep breath and calmed down "I want to know something."

"Ask away!"

"Why did Iron Man, Earth's Mightiest hero, join me on my quest for world domination?" Tony shrugged stiffly glancing at the camera man who stood terrified in the corner recording the whole thing. He raised his hand to shut the camera off but Loki grabbed it "I thought you liked an audience." There was a tensed stare down before Tony finally lowered his arm glaring at Loki "Now answer the question. On camera."

**(Read between the lines. When he says could he means could have when he says should he means should have. He doesn't mean he does or he will or whatever.)**

"Well... a reason I would join you is because well... for starters Nick Fury and SHIELD annoy the crap out of me, I don't trust or like them they don't trust or like me, it was doomed to fail from the start. On top of that me and the good Captain... well we don't exactly get along all the time. Plus even after the whole risking my life to save the world from _you_ I might add, the damn media still think I'm a selfish bastard! I mean come on, I flew through a portal with a freaking nuke on my back!" Tony calmed down "Also I'm way smarter than those idiots, I'm sure you have the same problem as me being around lesser evolved minds I mean you had to hang around Thor for a few thousand years."

"Ugh you have no idea." He crinkled his lips in disgust at Thor "What about ms Potts? From what I gathered she didn't approve of your hero lifestyle. How will she react to you teaming up with a villain?" 

Tony grimaced "Yeah, either she's with SHIELD right now or she's trying to track me down so she can march in here and slap me." 

Loki looked bewildered "You're trackable?!" 

"Actually Loks, you're the one that's trackable. You're magic gives off a signal; I believe it would be a gamma sonar used to trace you." 

"Shut up you fool! You are telling SHIELD how to track me! I will not be defeated again!" 

"Whoops sorry, I forgot that camera was there! I suggest we move and let's ditch the camera." He pointed to the quaking man standing watching the uneasy alliance. 

"And where do you suggest we go?" 

Tony smirked again "uuh uuh uuh, not on camera." He turned to the cameraman "Go outside and check if there's anyone out there, if you run, scream or lie to the god of lies might I add, I'll shoot you." 

The man nodded as Tony aimed his arm repulsor at him. He went outside pale and ashen and looked around "T-T-there's no one here." 

"Good, now scram." The man ran as fast as he could. "Well that was fun, now let's go back to my tower, I have the best security, it's Hulk proof and Clint and Bruce are bound to have found a way out by now." 

"Did you reinforce the windows?" Loki grinned remembering how he had thrown him out the window 

Tony snapped back sourly "Yes I did actually." 

"Touchy touchy." Loki grinned "Come, I shall transport us back to your tower." He held out his hand 

"I uuum I don't think I should-" Loki grabbed his wrist and suddenly he was millions of specs. He was the dust that floated in the air; he was the pollen that drifted with the wind; he was the sunlight that bathed the Earth; he was the mist that floated on the water; he was the Nitrogen, Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere; he was the air itself, the very essence of life. And then suddenly he was standing next to his house bar looking out of the reinforced glass "oh my god." 

"Amazing, isn't it." He said his eyes sparkled with something that for once wasn't malice or insanity. 

"Yeah." Tony replied breathlessly as he tried to comprehend what had just happened, trying and failing to fit that kind of teleportation into his limited Midgardian view of science "Wow." 

Loki turned and laughed at Tony's awed expression "I forget Midgardians do not know of magic." 

"Magic's not real. It's just science we don't understand yet." 

Loki shot him a look that scream 'ignorant mortal' before dropping it and focusing on his goal "So where do we strike first? The White House? We could take out the American President and the most powerful country will be thrown into disarray." 

_"Oh please!_ The White House is so cliché. If you really want to show how bad you are blow up an orphanage." He winced inwardly but kept his face as at ease as if he were talking to Rhodey or Pepper. 

"An orphanage?" Loki looked thoughtful "Man of iron, you truly are evil. I will blow up the biggest one in America and I will make a show of it!" 

"How will you make a show of it?" 

"When we get there I'm sure some buffoon from the Bugle that is Daily will come with their cameras and witness the destruction." 

"It's the Daily Bugle." Tony could help but laugh at how similar Thor and Loki's speech pattern was but he figured it was probably best not to bring up his former-brother "And okay, let's go. I'll suit up." No he wasn't planning to kill a bunch of orphans he was going to call ahead of time during the alone time JARVIS was going to buy him. He whispered "Code V-61." And a silent buzz from the Stark phone in his pocket told him JARVIS had heard and got the message. As they approached the lab Tony stopped and faced Loki "uuum JARVIS has orders never to let a villain into the lab." 

"Well you are in charge tell him to let me in." 

"See the thing is, because you have mind control power's JARVIS has to ignore my orders." 

"Yet he's going to let you fly off and blow up an orphanage?" 

"Well I may try to be prepared but not even I thought this would happen." 

"Fine but be quick." 

Tony typed in his code and looked at his suits; He had the Mark V on display as well as the VII and the XXXV and the XXXXII, if he wanted stealth and destructive power he would pick one of the newer ones however he was trying to keep damage to a minimum so he picked the V. As it closed around him he whispered "JARVIS tell SHIELD that I'm going to blow up the largest orphanage in America and I'm stalling for time but they better evacuate quickly." He was about to leave but he stopped "Hey JARVIS what is the orphanage called and where is it?" 

"St Alban's Orphanage is located in California. I am giving you the co-ordinates." JARVIS replied smoothly 

Tony sighed with relief "Oh good, it's going to take a while to get there then. That should give SHIELD time to evacuate." He then exited the lab and saw an impatient Loki glaring at him "We're going to Cali!" 

"Where is this 'Cali' you speak of?" Loki asked confused 

"It's short for California. It's where St Alban's Orphanage is. And I'm not teleporting again at least not in the suit, it might mess with the electronics." 

"Fine then let us fly." Loki looked irritated "uh mortals and their limits." 

"Hey Reindeer Games! Last I checked you couldn't fly either!" 

"Well check again." He then transformed into a black crow with contrasting bright green eyes He crowed at Tony before taking off through a window that opened itself as he approached 

"Okay... oh yeah I forgot, magic. Right." Then he closed his face plate and took off through the French doors. He called Fury and sighed in relief when JARVIS showed Fury and 5 annoyed super heroes standing behind him They all erupted asking questions and yelling at him for his stupidity. He cut them off "Guys I got to keep this brief, please tell me you cleared out the orphanage!" 

Natasha answered professionally "It's 60% clear. It should take about 30 minutes to fully evacuate." 

Tony cursed and gritted his teeth, he could already see California in the distance and flying at his speed it wouldn't take long to reach there, he slowed down slightly hoping Loki didn't notice " You don't have 3o minutes, I'm going as slow as I can but if I go any slower Loki will get suspicious! You have 15 minutes." 

Steve frowned at how unlikely it was they were going to clear all civilians of the are in 15 minutes but he nodded dutifully and stated "We'll make it." 

There was silence from both sides before Tony sighed "Look guys I should probably hang up, it's hard to not lie but not tell the truth when I've been in contact with you guys." 

He was about to hang up but Clint shouted "Wait!" 

"What is it Legolas?" 

"If you're going undercover... we will have to fight you." 

Bruce winced "it will have to look realistic too." 

Tony thought for a while "How about we jump that hurdle when we come to it." Then he hung up 

'We will have to fight you' 'It will have to look realistic' The words echoed around Tony's head. What was he going to do? He couldn't blow his cover as soon as he saw the Avengers but he couldn't fight them either. Uuuuuurg when did life get so hard? Oh yeah when a Norse god who was really a frost giant with daddy issues tried to take over the world with an alien invasion that entered Midgard by ripping open the sky using a magic blue cube. And that wasn't even the weirdest sentence he had thought since becoming Iron Man. Boy was his life was weird. 

Well I guess it's time to blow up an orphanage! 


	6. The Team's Adventure Throwback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers Assemble minus one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER IS TO FILL IN THE BLANKS OF HOW FURY ENDED UP WITH THE AVENGERS IN THE VIDEO OF WHEN STARK MESSAGES THEM AND HOW THE AVENGERS RENDEZVOUS.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Bruce and Clint yelled as Agent Barton tried to fly the suit as fast as they had seen Tony fly it. Bruce yelled over the wind "SLOW DOWN!" He was panicking but his eyes weren't flashing green and the Hulk was kept at bay.

"I'M TRYING! I DON'T KNOW HOW!" Clint yelled back and then they whizzed past a small private jet containing no other then Black Widow. She looked tensed but who could blame her.

When she saw what looked like an out of control Iron man holding Bruce her eyes widened and she jumped up from her seat believing she was under attack, she watched through the windows as the Iron Man suit circled her manically a few times before it slowed down and landed on the wing causing the plane to lurch to one side. She stumbled but got her balance back as the plane straightened itself, she was glad Scarlett had given her such a good pilot.

Bruce's grip on the suits neck was a vice and she guessed it would take a while to pry him off. She grabbed an EMP ruefully knowing if she used it, it would take out her plane as well as Iron Man. She also aimed her widow's bites but there was not much she could do from inside the plane. She sighed and grabbed a portable oxygen mask as well as a parachute then she yanked open the door and held on as the wind almost dragged her out, when all the pressurized air had left the plane she lurched towards Bruce trying to stay as aerodynamic as possible so she didn't get blown away by wind resistance. "Doctor Banner," She yelled over the wind "are you okay?"

He looked terrified and true to her previous thoughts he still had not let go of the suit but he managed weakly "It's okay Agent Romanoff, it's just Clint in there."

"CLINT!" She exclaimed lowering her widow's bites

"Hey Nat." She couldn't see his face (The idiot probably hadn't figured out the faceplate) but she could tell from his voice that he was grinning.

"Stop smiling. We need to track Stark and Loki. Get in here and take that off." She ordered pointing back to the door she had previously exited through

"Right." The two boys carefully made their way into the plane and the suit came off automatically

Bruce had finally let go and was sat down across from Natasha and Clint "Okay so us three are together, now we just need Thor and Steve."

Clint thought "Well Steve's with Fury on a helicarrier full of SHIELD agents. I'm sure they'll find a way out."

Natasha picked up "Thor however is a different story. According to his files the Einstein-Rosen Bridge is broken."

"You still won't call it the Bifröst?!" Clint snorted at her lack of belief

"If there's one thing me and Stark agree on it's that there is no magic and there are no gods. It's just the advanced science of an alien race."

Bruce cringed slightly "And that gets us on to the topic of Stark. Traitor or trickster?"

Clint frowned "He wouldn't betray us. I mean Stark's an insufferable asshole that only cares about himself but he wouldn't betray us for Loki."

"Wouldn't he?" asked Natasha going to her default setting of suspicion and distrust

"No! He wouldn't! Would he?" Bruce started confidently but by the end he was just as unsure as anyone else

"He has a reason." Reasoned Natasha

Clint looked at her "What reason?"

"A year before the Battle of Manhattan Fury sent me to work undercover at SI. I found out a few things about him but there's a slight possibility that his eccentricism is more than just a quirk."

"Explain." Demanded Bruce

"Tortured in Afghanistan for three months. Self-escaped. Common signs of child neglect. Only having like three friends before we came along and two of them were his employees. Never having a meaningful relationship with a woman. Having his father figure they to kill him. He killed a bunch of people in Afghanistan too. He's been through a lot more than most civilians have, even more than most SHIELD Agents."

The two boys were silent as the mulled over the possibilities until Clint asked "So where'd you get the plane and the pilot when Loki dumped you in the middle of Russia?"

Natasha smiled "My friend Scarlett owes me a favour."

"Scarlett? I don't think you know a Scarlett... WAIT! Do you mean Scarlett Johansson?"

"Yep." She replied popping the P uncharacteristically

"Wow." Was all Clint could say

Bruce looked at Natasha as if comparing her to an image in his mind "You know if we give Johansson a ginger wig and put her in a black cat suit, she'd look a lot like you."

Clint and Natasha looked at each other but then simultaneously shook their heads and said "Nah."

LINE BREAK

Steve was running through the streets of Manhattan weaving his way through panicked civilians, trying to get to Stark towers where hopefully Bruce and Clint would be. A woman from the Daily bugle ran up to him and he stopped knowing he had to put the city at ease even if he wasn't at ease himself. The lady approached quickly eyes warily darting around as if expecting Iron man and Loki to attack at any minute, although he guessed she was, she asked him "Captain Rogers, please tell us has Iron man truly turned?"

Steve sighed "To be honest, we're really not sure. It doesn't seem like something Stark would do, he may be an annoying guy who tends to shine a bad light on himself for unflattering public behaviour but I know Stark. He may be underhanded but he's not a traitor." 'Do you really believe that Steve?' a voice in his head asked he gritted his teeth and shut the voice out "My guess is he's playing Loki. Now I have to go and figure out where Bruce and Clint are, hopefully they're still at Stark towers." And then he ran off already having wasted enough time.

He was outside the Shwarma joint when he stopped and frowned. What was that sound?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Was that screaming?

”Captain of America! Look to the skies!”

Only one person called him that. He looked up just in time to be crushed by Thor and they hit the ground hard. What were the odds that of all the places to fall, Thor fell on him. The both groaned painfully as they got up. Captain Rogers asked wincing as he felt the cuts all up his legs beginning to heal "Thor, how did you get here?"

"Loki's spell on the Bifröst was strong, but not strong enough. The joint efforts of myself, The All father Odin, Heimdallr, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three was enough to break his enchantment."

"Good to know." Of course Steve didn't know any of the people he had just named but he could tell they were friends of Thor's from the way they spoke "We need to find the other three. Widow's in Russia and Clint and Bruce should be in the Tow-" An Iron man suit flying really badly holding onto a terrified Bruce Banner whizzed out of the tower "No way is that Stark."

"Which means it must be The Eye of the Hawk."

"I can't believe Barton's flying the suit. Come on." They both turned around and followed from the ground as best as they could. They failed to notice when a little while later the real Tony Stark accompanied by a black crow flew out of the tower.

After a while of running and not being able to get their attention Thor spun his hammer grabbed Steve and started flying, unfortunately he wasn't nearly as fast as an out of control Clint and they lost them quickly. Steve huffed "Well that's just great. What do we do now?"

Bobbi Morse appeared out of nowhere brandishing her twin staves her caramel curls bouncing around her shoulders and her tight cat suit clinging to her skin, the SHIELD emblem displayed proudly on the shoulders "well you could point me in the direction of the other Agents."

"Bobbi!" Steve exclaimed "Good to see you, I believe they are near the docks. But Thor and I need to talk to Fury so let's find them together."

Thor boomed "Lady Bobbi, are you the Bird of Mocking?"

She smiled "It's Mockingbird actually, but yeah that's me! Anyways to the docks we go!" and she took off running with the two blondes not too far behind. Of course Steve over took them pretty quickly and Thor was right behind him, Bobbi despite starting first was trailing behind being only human and all that. "Oh this is so not fair!"

Steve grinned and Thor shouted at Steve "On you left!" as he overtook Steve

Steve rolled his eyes and muttered "So that's how that feels."

When they reached the docks they asked around and eventually found Fury, a few other dozen agents had joined them on land after getting off the Helicarrier. When Hill saw them she tapped Fury and they both came over "Agent Morse, Rogers, Thor. You're all here. Morse get orders from Agent May, you two update me."

"Well Thor just fell out of the sky and landed directly on top of me-"

"Ah yes, sorry about that."

"-and then what we think was Clint flying an Iron man suit carrying Bruce flew out of the tower, but we lost them. Still no word from Natasha"

Just as he said that there was a high pitched screeching sound and then every electronic billboard flickered until it was showed Clint and Bruce staring directly at the camera filming them making them look cross eyed from the background Natasha asked "is it working?"

Clint replied "I think so. Let's hope so."

Bruce spoke to the camera "Okay so if this is working we should be broadcasting in Manhattan, we need to talk to Fury but he never gave us his phone number so now we have to do this. We will be landing this plane in the water so if you had like some towels ready or something, maybe a boat, that would be good."

Natasha popped into the frame "Also anyone using Stark tech please hand it over to the SHIELD Agents I hope are in Manhattan. When this issue is resolved it will be returned or replaced don't worry."

Fury turned to Steve and Thor "You two go take a boat out, we have a bunch of SHIELD one's over there." He pointed to the row of jet black boats all tied to the pier

"Oh those are SHIELD boats?" Steve asked sarcastically "The huge logo on the side didn't make it very obvious." But he jogged over to the boats none the less and started untying one, Thor followed suit.

Not long after a plane landed gracefully in the water and a random pilot, Natasha, Clint and Bruce stepped out, they were all struggling to hold the Iron man suit so Thor leapt across to help them.

They finally made it back to land and Fury gathered the Avengers together in a huddle "Okay we need to figure out what's going on with Stark and bring down Loki. And guys I know Tony's your friend but if he really has joined Loki and gone dark side you don't hesitate to take him down, you here me?" A dishearted choir of Yes Sir's was heard from the incomplete team of Avengers "On a happier note Stark has informed me he and Loki will be blowing up an orphanage!"

Natasha cocked her head "I don't see how that's a happier note."

Fury rolled his one good eye at her "Loki wanted to blow up the White House but Stark changed his mind set and then gave us enough time to evacuate. The building is 60% clear of people."

"Oooooh!" a collective ooh of understanding rang off the Avengers and they stood there mulling over what was going on when suddenly the suit's face plate opened up and a hologram of Tony Stark in the suit showed up on the inside "Director Fury, I have a message from Mr Stark it is of number one priority." JARVIS said

"Uuuum. Put him on J." Clint replied

As soon as Tony could hear and see them and vice versa they all started yelling at him for his stupidity but he silenced them, with an urgent voice. "Guys I got to keep this brief, please tell me you cleared out the orphanage!"

Natasha answered professionally "It's 60% clear. It should take about 30 minutes to fully evacuate."

Tony cursed and gritted his teeth obviously not satisfied with that answer "You don't have 30 minutes, I'm going as slow as I can but if I go any slower Loki will get suspicious! You have 15 minutes."

Steve frowned at how unlikely it was they were going to clear all civilians of the are in 15 minutes but he nodded dutifully and stated "We'll make it."

Tony whispered almost to himself,but the com link picked it up "We have to."

There was silence from both sides before Tony sighed "Look guys I should probably hang up, it's hard to not lie but not tell the truth when I've been in contact with you guys."

He was about to hang up but Clint shouted "Wait!"

"What is it Legolas?"

"If you're going undercover... we will have to fight you."

Bruce winced "it will have to look realistic too."

Tony thought for a while "How about we jump that hurdle when we come to it." Then he hung up

'Don't hesitate to end him' 'We will have to fight you' the words echoed in their heads as they looked uneasily at each other Fury rubbed the bridge of his nose the stress finally getting to him "Well let's go save an orphanage."


	7. The Adventurer's Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Tony have to fight the Avengers outside the Empty orphanage. And maybe winging it or "Crossing that bridge when it comes to it" wasn't the best plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there's a lot of reused dialogue in this chapter but I would like to say this is lifted from my FanFiction.net account (Laughing.Thalia) and I wrote this back when I was terrible at this. My modern stuff is way better, it's like I went through a Renaissance.

Loki landed in front of the Orphanage grinning manically and pointed his staff at the large dull building. A pulsing blue light emitted from it and as soon as it reached the uniform building there was a loud bang as a whole wall crumpled. Iron man landed behind him and whistled the way people do when they find things impressive "wooooow. That's a big blast you got there."

"Yes it is isn't it? Why don't you have a go, blast something."

Tony frowned behind his mask; he still hadn't gotten any sign from The Avengers as to whether or not the evacuation had been successful or not "Repulsors aren't really that good on buildings."

Loki turned to Tony, challenging him "Do I detect stalling? Perhaps you aren't as loyal to me as you claim to be."

A bead of sweat trickled down his back, it was getting uncomfortably hot inside his suit "I'm not stalling."

Loki taunted menacingly "You're lying!" The trickster took a few steps towards him.

"I'm not!" Tony was panicking now, he had seen what his staff could do. It would rip right through his armour like it was made of paper if it was used against him.

"I don't like people who lie to me."

Tony backed up a bit "No really I'm not lying."

"The last person who lied to me ended up with a sword in their heart. Now I don't have a sword but..." he raised his staff and grinned evilly as the blue light built up around the tip, letting off a charging sound.

Tony's eyes widened and he took several steps back knowing that it was useless but before he could get blasted by Loki he was flung to the side by the force of a circular shield hitting him "Aaah!" He yelled in shock not having noticed the Avengers arrive on the scene he landed roughly several feet away from where he had been previously been standing. Tony looked around to see Thor fighting with Loki as well as Steve holding his shield and Clint and Natasha both aiming their respective weapons at him. Okay so he was keeping his cover. But how well should he fight? If he wanted to he could defeat Barton pretty easily; Widow would be slightly harder but she's only human, eventually she would fall; Captain America was the biggest challenge but he could still beat him if he wanted to. But the whole point of this was that he _didn't_ want to, he just had to make it look like he did. "So the Avengers have joined the party!"

Natasha raised an eyebrow "I don't see how this is a party."

"Natashalie! How's it going? How was Russia?"

"Cold."

"That's nice." He turned to Clint and opened his face plate and taunted him "Legolas, a little birdie told me you wore my suit. I don't like it when people wear my suits, especially SHIELD agents." He gave Clint his best menacing look which wasn't that hard seeing as he really didn't like people wearing his suit.

"Oh yeah, and I care so much about what you like." Clint scoffed

"You should care seeing as I could blow you to kingdom come with very little effort."

Clint allowed a one-sided smug grin to pass his face "Check again smart ass."

Tony scanned Hawkeye and his eyes stopped when he looked at the arrow Clint had notched in his bow "An EMP. Smart."

Steve spoke up "All three of us are armed with them. So why don't you just take off the suit and hand yourself in."

"EMPs or not. I can take you all out in seconds. I know you, I've been studying you and all your special skills. I can predict your moves before you even know them. So Capsicle why don't you just step back and let Loki wreak havoc on the world."

The three Avengers heard Fury speaking in their ears "There's a camera hidden in the bush to the left of you and another one near Thor. Don't let them get hit, they're from the Daily Bugle."

At the same time JARVIS said to Tony "Sir, I detect two life signs to the left of you behind a bush and the other closer to Loki and Thor. I also detect an electronic device possibly a camera."

 **(According to the internet uru is an Asgardian metal and Thor's hammer Mjölnir is made of it)** Behind Tony a war between the Asgardians raged on, lightning, uru and magic clashed violently in an epic battle. "Brother! Why have you returned to Midgard?" Thor boomed over the sound of metal clashing.

"I AM NOT YOUR BROTHER YOU DULL CREATURE!" Loki snapped at the blonde demigod "I do not need to explain myself to you."

"Well then answer this, why have you corrupted the Man of Iron?"

"I have done nothing to the Man of Iron, he came of his own free will."

"Did you not threaten his life?"

"If he was really the hero he claimed to be he would have died a hero's death. In other word Brother the Man of Iron was already corrupt. He was just a fraud." At the word 'fraud' Loki used his sceptre to fling Thor several metres into the air and as he landed back on the ground he flung him into the side of a building.

Thor smiled as he slowly got up "You just called me brother."

Loki's eyes widened and in a fit of temper he yelled in pure rage as he blasted Thor with enough force to kill him luckily for The Thunderer he blocked with Mjölnir and sent back a bolt of lightning just as deadly. "I will feel no remorse when I kill you."

"Loki, family does not end in blood."

"I am not your brother and I never was! We are not family." Loki told him coldly

"So is Frigga not your mother?"

"She is not."

"She raised you from a baby. We were _raised_ together, we played together, we ate together, schooled together, we fought together. You cannot tell me all of that, all of our lives, your life meant nothing."

"I remember things differently. I remember father favouring you, I remember sitting to the side lines as you played with Lady Sif and the warriors three, I remember eating alone in my room-"

"You chose to eat in your room!"

"I remember being sent out of class because I refused to partake in the mindless violence that you dimwits called school. I remember me saving you from countless battles and you abandoning me and turning on me just because that's what the crowds were doing. I remember you holding me down while they sowed my lips shut. I remember you turning your back on my children Hel, the wolf Fenrir and the serpent Jörmungandr when they needed you most. So yes Thor. To answer your question our lives did mean nothing."

"But what about all the fun we had as boys? Do you not remember all the good times we had?"

"I remember a shadow! Living in the shade of your greatness. Before, you asked me what I had done to corrupt Anthony Stark and I told you he was already corruptted. I believe living in someone's shadow, living up to an impossible ideal is something we have in common. Maybe that is what made him switch sides."

 

Back with the other four Avengers they had thrown many hits but neither side had actually hit each other. Iron Man had shot the ground and brought up a lot of debris so no one could say they weren't fighting, Clint had put the EMP back in his quiver and was shooting either normal arrows which got stuck in the chinks of his armour or explosive arrows which hit some way off from Tony. Natasha had shot bullets at the triple protected chest plate and hadn't even left a dent whilst Steve had yet to throw his shield. Any onlookers would be able to tell immediately that no one was fighting to their full abilities. But despite the lack of action the verbal jabs and streams of sarcasm were endless.

"So where's the not-so-jolly green giant?"

"Bruce is with Fury. And let me tell you he's disgusted by your betrayal." Steve spat

Tony froze for a millisecond. _'This is a fake fight Tony he's not serious Bruce knows you're a double agent'_

"We all are," Steve continued his voice laced with venom "Howard would be disgusted in you he wouldn't even call you his son."

For a second Tony forgot this was a fake fight, he forgot those were fake words and suddenly he was consumed by endless anger, the anger he imagined that Loki felt at every waking hour. He lunged forward and wrapped his metal fingers around Steve's neck while pinning him against the wall, he glared at Steve anger pouring out of him in litres "How dare you. You don't know my father. You don't know what he would of wanted and how he would of felt." His fingers tightened around his throat to the point that Steve, the great Captain America was clawing at his hands. Of course thanks to the suit he couldn't feel it but an exploding arrow shot behind him courtesy of Clint brought him back to Earth. Tony leapt back from Captain America and stared with wide eyes as he got his breath back "Oh my God. Steve... I..."

"Stark! What the heck was that!?" Steve yelled at him after he got his breath back.

"I'm so sorry. I just got caught up.. you know my dad's a touchy subject for me."

"Actually I didn't know. Natasha and Pepper cornered me one day and told me to never ever bring him up and then they left without an explanation. I just figured it was because he was... you know...dead." Steve went back to being angry "But you do know this is a FAKE fight and a FAKE argument! I didn't mean any of that!"

"I know... I just forgot."

Natasha repeated in disbelief "You forgot?!"

Clint laughed "He forgot!"

"And you forgetting is a good reason for almost choking me to death!"

"ppppsh." Stark waved a hand nonchalantly "You could have gotten out of that easy peasy."

"Stark! Are you forgetting you have a metal suit on!"

Tony frowned slightly confused and starting to feel guilty "But you get out of choke holds all the time in training."

"That's because in training you're never actually trying to kill me!"

"I wasn't trying to kill you just a second ago."

"Really? Because it sure felt like you were!"

Clint coughed effectively drawing attention to himself "Are we forgetting something."

"Like what?" Steve and Tony asked simultaneously.

"Like the evil Norse god with daddy issues who we're supposed to be tricking by fighting."

Natasha snorted "oh right him."

"Well Steve I suggest you should stop grilling me out and get back to fake attacking me."

"Fine just don't choke me again."

The super soldier and the billionaire clad in titanium steel alloy separated and just as Tony took aim to start shooting fake shots at them Thor crashed into his back and sent him to the ground, unfortunately his face plate was still open and the ground was still covered in debris so he ended up with a painful cheek and a mouth full of grit and shrapnel "Uuug. Now I'm going to need an arc reactor for my mouth." He spat out the grit and waited for a second for the blond demigod to roll off of him knowing it would be pretty hard to get up with that hunk of beef still on top of him. The two of them got up "Thor what's the big idea? Watch where your falling dude."

Thor looked at him and then slammed his hammer into him as hard as he could and sent him flying backwards into a building causing him to inhale even more debris "Uuuh c'mon! Today is not my day."

As soon as Thor had hit Iron man he flung his hammer at Loki and made sure it stayed on his chest as he fell. Loki was pinned under Thor's hammer and was trying fruitlessly to escape "Get this hammer off of me you mewling quim! You imbecile! You dim-witted buffoon!"

Clint, Natasha and Steve made their way over to Thor and the four of them loomed over him just like they had in the first battle. Of course this time they were missing two members. Steve looked at Thor "Was it really necessary to hit Tony that hard? In fact was it necessary to hit him at all?"

 

Thor frowned down at Loki as he squirmed under the hammer "Captain of America I have qualms about Loki."

"I know I know he's your brother, he's of Asgard blah blah blah! But we let Asgard have him last time and yet he's back. I think Fury and the world will want him under Midgardian lock and key to face Midgardian Justice."

"Not that. I do not believe this is Loki."

As soon as he said that the fake Loki disappeared and the hammer fell to the ground with a boom shaking the ground and causing the two assassins to stumble. Behind them a cold laugh made them turn around. Loki, the real Loki was lifting up the unconscious Tony and flinging him over his shoulder like he was a sack of flour and not a fully grown man encased in metal. "I'm impressed Thor, you've gotten better at detecting my magic."

Steve shouted at him "Put him down!"

"Ooh. Captain Rogers, is that protectiveness I hear? Or do you just want to bring this traitor to justice?"

"Justice. Of course I want him brought to justice."

Loki smiled "Well I can't have that, he's my partner in crime. Also Captain," They started to fade as they teleported "You're lying." With that and a gust of wind the two disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I was going to make this the last chapter but then I thought two words. Plot twist.


	8. Drowning On Dry Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the title says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Has anyone noticed that especially in these last 3-4 chapters I've made it a point that Loki doesn't use acronyms? Norse gods don't seem to have a grip on acronyms.
> 
> I'm not sure what's harder adding in HTML text to upload to AO3 (Even though I'm pretty sure I don't have to) or taking it away to post on FF.N

Tony woke up with a start. He looked around to find he was in quite a dark room, he couldn't even see the walls but he could tell it was large by the slight echo that came from his breathing he could also see that the room was most likely some sort of abandoned warehouse (How cliché) that hadn't been cleaned or even checked in decades. The room was overflowing with cylinder metal barrels marked with toxic waste signs a few of them looked full some were even overflowing causing the ground around it to sizzle and melt. Tony cringed in disgust as the smell reached his noise. Loki spoke up "Yes the smell is less than ideal."  


Tony jumped in shock and realised he was bound to a chair, his arms tied sturdily behind his back making him unable to move and causing a dull ache to pulse through his shoulders. Loki stood across from him staring silently. "Loki, what's the big idea?!" Tony tried to act as nonchalant as he could but he was freaking out on the inside, then again who _wouldn't_ be when a crazy Norse god of mischief, trickery and lies had you tied up in an unknown location?  


"Just be glad you're not gagged, or dead."  


"Oh yeah, thanks Lokes, I really appreciate it." Tony rolled his eyes sarcasm dripping from every word.  


Loki pursed his lips but didn't say anything in return knowing it would cause the entire conversation to go off course "Before The Avengers interrupted us," Loki started in his crisp vaguely British accent, "we were having a conversation and it has raised a very serious question: Who are you loyal to?"  


Tony stared at him for a second trying to buy himself some time by acting concussed, how could he answer? Surely if he said 'Loki' he'd know it was a lie, but what else could he say? "You. I'm loyal to you."  


Loki frowned "This is most odd."  


"What is?"  


"I cannot tell if you are lying or not."  


"Reindeer Games how can you not tell? Either I'm lying or I'm not, just pick one."  


"Oh, I see what is happening.”  


"Yo-you do?" How can _Loki_ know what's happening when _Tony_ wasn't even sure what was happening  


"This is rich. _This is rich!_ You are getting confused. You do not know who you are loyal to any more."  


Tony stared at him for a moment "Is this some sort of trick to get me to admit that I'm secretly loyal to SHIELD or something?"  


"Anthony, that orphanage was empty, I sensed it. What are the _odds_ that the _biggest_ orphanage in America was _empty_. Unless someone told them what was happening."  


"You think I told them?" Stark tried to act as offended as he possibly could.  


"Well I certainly didn't tell them and you are the one who said to blow up that orphanage instead of the White House."  


"Well excuse me for trying to make you seem more evil and less like some cartoon villain from some newspaper comic strip! Honestly if you wanted to kill the President you should have gone to Hydra!"  


"Why would I go to an eight headed beast? It is of Greek origin, Norse gods such as I are not supposed to mix with the Olympian's creations."  


"...Not what I meant...wait. Did you just admit that Greek gods are real?"  
v  
Loki looked to the ceiling as he thought, his mind wondering "And Roman gods and Egyptian gods and Chinese gods, the list is endless." His head snapped back to Tony "Do not try to distract me with petty small talk! I am not one of those dull mortals you spent your time with, I am the _god_ of trickery."  


"I wasn't trying to distract you." Tony shrugged 'helplessly' and gave a lopsided smirk "S'not my fault if your idle mind wandered." Tony was shocked when Loki delivered a stinging slap to his right cheek causing blood to rush to his face. He asked in utter disbelief "Did you just _slap_ me?!"  


"I have wanted to do that from the moment we met in Germany." Loki paced gracefully from left to right in front of Tony "Tell me Anthony, are you a hero?"  


 _'Might as well, it seems the jigs up'_ Tony thought "Yes, yes I am."  


Loki's lips curled upwards in appeasement, not quite a smile "Now you do not truly believe that."  


"Well I don't need to tell you what I truly believe!"  


"Stark, I know you know that I know that you are not loyal to me and that you never were. So now we are enemies, which means I do not have to hold back when it comes to you. I can do whatever I want."  


"Don't you do that anyway?" Loki slapped him again in the face this time swinging his hand back again and backhanding him.  


"I would watch your tone unless you want to get a beating."  


"Like your delicate little lady fingers would do much damage!" Loki's eyes flared and he punched Tony hard in the nose, Tony yelped as he heard his nose crack and immense pain seared throughout his face radiating from the broken fixture in the centre. Tony involuntarily tried to cradle his face with his hands but he was still tied up and ending up jerking weirdly "YOU JUST BROKE MY NOSE!"  


"Well it seems my 'delicate little lady fingers' can do a lot of damage." Loki wiped away the tiny drop of blood that had landed on his hand, the red stood out on his pale complexion. "Mmmm, now a little birdie told me that you have a phobia of water."  


"It's not really a phobia, more of a mild discomfort really."  


"So you would not mind if I were to say...dunk your head in a bucket of water?" Loki waved his hand and a large pail of water appeared in-between them.  


Tony stared into the bucket his eyes wide, he swallowed heavily. Letting out a shaky high pitched laugh he scoff nervously "Why would I, it's like a pool... but for your head." His heart started beating faster in his chest.  


_Oh God. He was back in Afghanistan being water boarded by the ten rings._   


Welcome Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America  


He wants you to build a missile  


I refuse  


His breath hitched in his throat as he was pulled into the flash back his head repeatedly being plunged into the water and yanked out, his car battery electrifying him making the pain and the terror ten times worse.  


Don't waste your life  


SNAP OUT OF IT!  


His eyes came back into focus and he saw Loki smirking at him, how long had he been out? Had he even been out or had he simply been staring into space. He couldn't even remember how many times Pepper or JARVIS or one of the bots and more recently Bruce, Natasha or Clint have pulled him out of a flashback or woken him from a nightmare. Everyone says he should get help or talk to one of them but he can't. The moment he goes to a shrink the board and the government will say he can't be in charge of the company/Iron Man any more. If he tells his friends, they'll think he's weak and they'll know just how messed up in the head he really is. So he kept it inside and suffered silently.  


He stared back at Loki, daring him to act but hoping, no praying he wouldn't. And then he did.  


Loki grabbed his head and force his face into the bucket causing the chair to tip forward, he fell painfully on his knees and opened his mouth to yell. He never got the chance. As soon as his mouth was open his head was underwater and the clear liquid started invading his mouth, violating his throat. He couldn't breathe. _He couldn't breathe._ Oh God he couldn't breathe.  


_'I can't do this again, I can't.'_   


He felt a sting in his eyes that meant he was about to cry, he didn't want to cry in front of Loki but at least the water would disguise his tears. He started to trash desperately needing oxygen and Loki pulled him out bending his back uncomfortably seeing as he was still strapped to the chair. He gasped and breathed in huge gulps of air trying to fill his lungs with oxygen while also trying to hack up any water he had just swallowed. This odd combination of breathing resulted in him getting light headed and woozy, add that to the already traumatic experience and the flashback and you get a sobbing bundle of Stark.  


The god of Chaos lifted his head up by his hair and force to sobbing Iron Man to look him in the eye "Do you see the weak creature you've been reduced to by water? Water, the purest and most necessary thing needed to live."  


"News flash Loki," He hacked up a quarter of a litre, almost losing his sentence in his coughing fit "Oxygen is the most necessary thing needed to live."  


"You just do not learn do you?" Loki flipped the chair around so Tony's hands were being crushed by the chair and his own body weight behind his back, his face was looking upwards at the high ceiling "Maybe it is about time I teach you." He place a cloth over Tony's face and magicked up a jug of water (It's magic so it never runs out) He slowly poured the water over his covered face and watched as Tony realised what was happening.  


"Loki! Wait! We can talk about this-(gasp) LOKI!" As the cloth got wet it began to cling to Stark's face causing it to block his nostrils and his mouth while simultaneously pouring water into said face holes. Tony yelled and tried to get away but Loki was thorough, short of Loki untying him there was no way Tony was getting out of his bonds.  


Tony sobbed and screamed whether he was submerged or not "Please just stop! Please I'm begging you please-" and he was choking again, drowning on dry land. He jerked and thrashed as best as he could while tied to a chair. He screamed into the cloth but no one besides a manic silver-tongue could hear him. "What do you want! I'll give you anything just stop please! Oh God please just stop! I'm begging you." He screamed again and kicked his legs but Loki dodged them easily "Oh God please..." He sobbed tears pouring from his eyes. The water found its way down his wind pipe, he tried to cough it back up but ended up choking. He could do nothing except make sure he didn't die as Loki slowly suffocated him. All he could do was let Loki drown him on dry land.


	9. Ironman, The First Adventurer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter! Cross-posted from Fanfiction.net @Lauging.Thalia .

**A/N: When Loki asked "But how" from that part onwards is the part I had pre-planned from like chapter 5 but didn't know where to put, I changed it slightly because of any minor details like Tony not being in the suit, in the original draft Iron man opened his face plate obviously he can't do that if he's not wearing it.**   
"We need to find Tony, NOW!" Steve yelled as the Avengers burst into the helicarrier main area.

"How are we supposed to know where they went?!" Clint asked worriedly (and also slightly aggressively) "They could be anywhere in the world! Heck they could be on flipping Asgard!"  
Agent Thompson a dirty-blond computer whizz with a square jaw, high cheek bones and the bluest eyes imaginable approached them slightly nervous and intimidated (which was different from his usual unfazed confident cool-guy look) "Uum we've been analysing all the footage and at one point Mr Stark says the best way to track Loki's magic was via Gamma radar."

"Well then, show me your Gamma Radar!" Bruce commanded.

"Right this way." Agent Thompson led them away.

They walked across the room to a large electronic looking box with several radars on the top and a screen on the side, Bruce started typing on the screen and clicking various buttons until he stepped back and announced that he was finished "Done. It will take a while but it should work."

"We don't have time for 'should work' in fact we don't have time at all! He could be doing anything to Tony right now!" Natasha yelled in an unusual display of emotion.

"You don't think I know that!" Bruce's eyes flashed green and several agents backed away "I'm doing the best I can okay!" he took a deep breath and rubbed his temples "He's my friend too ya' know."

Natasha signed and hung her head slightly, ashamed at her outburst directed at Bruce "I know."

Suddenly the Gamma Radar starting beeping and flashing Bruce's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he dashed back to the screen. “Loki's by the Bay in some abandoned warehouse... Wow that's really cliché. I kind of expected more out of Loki..."

"Let us just find the man of Iron!" Thor demanded with his booming voice, he had been uncharacteristically quiet up until then.

"What he said." agreed Clint.

Natasha seemed to have loosened up a bit "Clint get us a Quinjet. We are heading for the Manhattan Bay."  
 **(Hudson River? I don't know, I'm British okay! Don't judge me)**

Clint ran off to the docking station where all the jets were kept while the others quickly filled in Agent Hill and Director Fury on the fact that they'd found Loki and hopefully Tony too.  
When the jet was ready Clint pulled up next to a large window and everyone jumped in strapping themselves in as they flew off at 800 mph.

**LINE BREAK**

They landed silently outside the warehouse, the jet not making a single sound as it touched down giving them the element of surprise. Clint and Natasha being professionals at sneaking around went first, Steve and Bruce next and the large rather loud god of Thunder went last for once not making a single sound.  
Suddenly a sound filled the air and Thor frowned "Is that-" he whispered "Is that sobbing?"

Natasha looked mad "Sounds like Tony."

Clint's lips tightened "I also hear a manic laugh. I'm guessing it belongs to that deranged son of a b*tch who by the way is simply begging for an arrow in the eye."

Thor gripped his hammer in rage whilst Steve took his shield off of his back just in case they encountered anyone in the halls. Natasha grabbed her guns and held one in each hand checking they were fully loaded and Clint notched and arrow so he could shoot at a moment's notice. Bruce stood in the centre being the least trained with an arm repulsor on (which was being controlled by JARVIS for obvious reasons). The five of them moved slowly down the corridor following the sound of Tony's sobs and Loki's evil laughter. As they got close they heard what sounded like water hitting the ground in one unending torrent. Natasha's eyes widened "He wouldn't!" she whispered almost to herself.

"I think he did." replied Clint quietly knowing exactly what she meant.

"Mind filling us in?" asked Steve confused.

Clint and Natasha whispered in unison "Water Boarding."

Bruce growled under his breath at the thought of his friend and team mate being drowned by Loki.

Black Widow dished out some information about their missing team mate "He has a history of water boarding. He was in Afghanistan for a while. No one really knows what happened but it's said he was water boarded there."

Bruce questioned "How could Loki possibly know that?"

They came to the door of the room Tony and Loki were in and Natasha silenced them with a finger to her lips. Slowly they all surrounded the door and Natasha counted down on her fingers. When she hit 0 she threw open the door and Steve flung his shield as hard as he could at Loki sending him flying and causing the bucket he was holding to drop on to the floor. As soon as Loki was down Thor flew in and slammed his hammer on top of him, this time it was the real Loki.

Natasha, Bruce and Clint helped untie Tony while Steve kept a vigilant eye out for any of Loki's tricks. Bruce pulled the cloth off of Tony's face and saw a broken man, Tony was sobbing uncontrollably and flinching away from them despite the fact that they were trying to untie him "Tony, calm down it's me Bruce. You know Big Green, the not so friendly green giant, man with breathtaking anger management issues, Science Bro. You know, that guy." he looked desperately at Natasha after he saw that nothing he said was helping.

Black Widow knelt down next to him and said "Will that be all Mr Stark?" hoping to bring his memories of Pepper to the front of his consciousness instead of whatever he was thinking about right now.

At those words Tony stopped thrashing and finally realised the Avengers had found him and he was okay now. He stopped sobbing but he still looked utterly panicked and also slightly embarrassed now that he was getting his wits about him once more. Now that he had stopped moving Clint was able to cut the ropes around his wrists and haul him up from the chair. As soon as he was standing up, Tony started hacking up water coughing and sputtering as more water poured from his abused and violated lungs.

After he'd expelled the water from his body he started puking although he hadn't eaten anything in a while so all that came up was water and sour tasting bile. Bruce rubbed his back comfortingly as he emptied his stomach. Tony wiped his mouth and turned to face Loki who was still on the floor. Tony wiped his mouth on his sleeve and then used his other sleeve to wipe his eyes and nose then stalked over to Loki and stared down at him, this time the other Avengers rallied around him like they had the first time they'd beat him in the Battle of Manhattan all those months ago. Clint had his bow and arrow pointed down at him, daring him to make a move. The only things that were different were that Bruce wasn't hulked out and Natasha wasn't holding a Chatari weapon and Tony wasn't in his suit.

"You Reindeer Games just got Double Crossed!" His ego was bruised he was over compensating trying to look as tough and unfazable as a Stark should look, as _Iron Man_ should look.

Loki lay under Thor's hammer, once again defeated. He asked weakly "But how?" This question was directed at Tony Stark.

Tony sent him a cocky smirk, his façade of confidence fitting perfectly over the broken man he had spent so long hiding "How? Well Reindeer Games, I never _actually_ lied to you in the beginning."

"You always planned to double cross me?"

"Yeah but you see, I said I'd join you and I did. I said I liked having an audience, I do. I told you reasons why I _MIGHT_ ditch the Avengers and join you. I never lied to you Loki, I just played you. You may be the Lie Smith over in Asgard but guess what, this isn't Asgard, we're on freaking Midgard and on Midgard _I'm_ the silver tongue."

Loki gave out a bitter laugh "You really do have a way with words Mr Stark. It's a shame you and I aren't a villainous duo, we could have caused some real havoc around here, maybe even succeeded in world domination."

"I'm sure we could. But like I said last time you were here: if we can't save the world, you can be damn sure we'll avenge it." He looked around at his team all standing proudly weapons drawn "And I have to say, so far we're doing a pretty good job."

**A/N: So in the unseen scene which will occur riiiiight... NOW all that happens is that Loki gets arrested taken to SHIELD and the Avengers take a leisurely stroll back to the tower.  
The reason I'm not showing that scene is because it's really not needed, this is a nice place to end this chapter and I have an awesome idea for the next one.  
Thank you for following/reading/favouriting/reviewing this fan fic.  
If you liked this story you should check out my other fan fic 'Stark Raving Mad' on Fanfiction.net (although may eventually be uploaded here if I ever finish it).  
Goodbye and farewell!**


End file.
